LIBRAR Y OF C ONGRESS, 

Chap Fi?..*^.?-..... 

Shelf . CL\.C.3^_.,. 



UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. 



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^^T^lGRAT/o^ 



FllOM 



ALSACE AND LOIUUIM. 



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yV PrIEP 3f'^ETCH or THE ]-ll5T0F^Y Of 

CASTRO'S COLONY 

IN 

WESTERN TEXAS. 

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NEW YORK: 

GEO. W. WHEAT A- CO., PKINTEES, No. 8 SPRUCE ST. 

18 7 1. 



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1 



IMMiaR^TIO^ 



FROM 



ALSACE AND LORRAINE 



At this time, when the subject of immigration is attracting 
so much attention, and so many able persons are expressing 
their views, more or less practicable, on the subject, it has oc- 
curred to the undersigned that these few lines would be read by 
the public with pleasure. 

The conclusion of the late war in Europe will now give us 
a good field from which to procure a class of immigrants much 
needed in this country. By the late treaty between France and 
Prussia, parts of the Departments of Mosselle, Meurthe, Voges, 
all Bas Rhin, and most of Haut Rhin are ceded to Prussia, 
containing, in all, fourteen hundred and twelve Municipalities, 
and one million six hundred thousand inhabitants — composing 
an industrious population, among whom are found some of the 
best Mechanics and Agriculturists of France. For reasons un- 
necessary to state here, most of them are ready to immigrate, 
and would, if the State took the proper steps to aid them, come to 
this country, where many of them have already relations estab- 
lished in the western portion of our State. 

Before giving my plan for facilitating this immigration to 
our State, I will give a short sketch of the History of Castro's 
Colony, one of the Colonies that have succeeded in this State, 



and the only one composed of immigrants from Alsace and 
Lorrame. In this case, if the Empresario was not successful 
tor himself, he was the means of securing competence and hap- 
pmess to thousands, as the Hon. Sam. Houston, Thos J Rusk 
David Kaufman and Daniel Webster testified in a letter to him' 
dated January 17, 1851. ' 

The late Henry Castro, having received for service rendered 
to the Republic of Texas, two grants of land to be colonized 
under certain conditions, one situated on the Rio G-rande com- 
mencing at a point nearly opposite Camargo, and running to 
- bait Lake, (Sal del Rey), thence in a parallel line to a point 
opposite Dolores below Laredo. It was never settled, on account 
of the Mexican War. The other, west of San Antonio, includ- 
ing that portion of the country now composing part of Medina 
Uvalde, Frio, Atascoso, Bexar, McMullen, Lasalle and Zavala 
counties, was settled, and the contract with the Government 
fully complied with, although many difficulties had to be over- 
come by the Empresario. 

When Henry Castro brought his first Colonists to the 
City of San Antonio, in February, 1843, no settlement existed 
west of the San Pedro Creek to the Rio Grande. 

In order to make Texas known, he published, under the 
name of others and his own, various pamphlets, giving a sketch 
of the geography, history, population, and products of our State- 
among the most interesting are the following: 
_ '' Coup d'Oeil Sur le Texas," with maprpublished m Paris 
in 1841, signed by Henry .Fournel; -Documents on Forei-n 
Commerce,-'^ published l)y the Minister of Commerce in FrancV 
'' Texas in 1845, by Henry Castro;" - The State of Texas ^- in 
1846, published at Antwerp, and many others, some beino- trans- 
lated into German. ^ 

In twenty-seven ships Henry Castro imported into this coun- 
try .;,200 people, a list of the names of the ships, with the 
name ol each immigrant, his age, profession, fortune, place of 
former residence, was always sent to the Secretary of State's 
office, and will be found to this day. I saw many myself in 

-LoOO. 

Below, I give the names of the ships, taken from the Colony 
Register, now in my possession. Besides, many contracts were 



3 

delivered to people who came to this State at their own expense, 
with Colony contractSj and remained in other portions of the 
State: 



NAMES OF SHIPS. 


CAPTAINS. 


PORT SAILED FROM. 


TO WHAT PORT. 


YEAR. 


1 Ebro, 


E. Perry, 


Havre, 


Galveston, 


1842^ 


2 Lyons, 


G. Parker, 


'' 


New Orleans, 


1843. 


3 Louis Phillippe, 


Laborde, 


Dunkcrquc, 


Galveston, 


1843. 


4 






" 


1843. 


5 John Key, 


De Paw, 


Antwerp, 


u 


1843. 


6 Heuricli,"^ 


Andreis, 


" 


<.i 


1844. 


7 Ocean, 


Rochjen, 


a 


'<■ 


1844. 


8 Jennette Marie, 


Perischke, 


It 


" 


1844. 


9 Probns, 


Deonis, 


" 


'• 


1845. 


10 Prince Oscar, 


Azoerken, 


" 


u 


1845. 


11 Mai'cia Claves, 


Caiborn, 


(C 


" 


1845. 


12 Alberdiu-a, 


Matling, 


(( 


" 


1845. 


13 Euphrosina, . 

14 Talisman, 




Ghent, 


't 


1845. 


Loornis, 




" 


1846. 


15 Diamant, 


Bailer, 




>.( 


1846. 


16 Cronstadt, 


Hatch, 


Antwerp, 


" 


1846. 


17 Carl Wilhelm, 


De ScheUing, 


Bremen, 


(( 


1846. 


18 Louise Frederich, 


Knigge, 


(( 


" 


1846. 


19 Neptune, 


Starsioppe, 


a 


" 


1846. 


20 Leo, 


Goerdes, 


u 


" 


1846. 


21 Bangor, 


Leighton, 


Antwerp, 




1846. 


22 Feyen, 


Kruse, 


Bremen, 






23 Due de Brabant, 




Antwerp, 






24 Schanunga, 


Patton, 


u ^ 


" 


1847. 


25 




Bremen, 


'• 


1847. 


26 Creole, 


Wessels, 


" 




1847. 


27 Horatio, 


H. Hall. 


Antwerp, 




1847. 



On the first of September, 1844, Henry Castro left San An- 
tonio at the head of his Colonists, and established his first 
settlement on the Medina River, twenty-five miles west of 
San Antonio — the town being named " Castro ville '' after the 
founder, by a unanimous vote of the Colonists. It is the County- 
seat of Medina County. 

In 1845, his Agent, Mr. Louis Huth, founded the town of 
Quihi, distant ten miles from Castroville; and in 1846, Mr Cas- 
tro, at the head of his Colonists, founded the town of '' Vanden- 
berg,'' distant seven miles from Quihi. 

In 1847, Mr Theodore Geiitil, at the head of Mr. Castro's 
Colonists, founded the town of ^' Dhanis," twenty-five miles 
west from the latter. 

These towns are in a prosperous condition, with the excep- 
tion of Vandenberg. On account of the water having dried up 
in the Verde Creek, upon which the town was situated, the in- 
habitants moved two and a half miles below, to New Fountain. 

Had Mr. Castro not been prevented by many obstacles, his 



plan was to surround his grant with villages; two more were to 
be located, one on the Seco, below Dhanis, to be called Osy, and 
one on the Laguna San Miguel, to be named St. Louis. 

The greatest difficulty that he encountered was not so 
much in procuring immigrants (though the Government of 
Louis Phillippe was trying to turn the tide of immigration 
toward Algiers), as in providing for them, even when they 
paid tlieir passage, which was not always the case. The cost ol 
transporting the immigrants from the coast of Europe to that 
of the Gulf of Mexico then averaged thirty dollars for each 
person, exclusive of provisions, and that on sailing vessels. 
But, it must be remembered, tlie coast of Texas was not known 
then; that Mr. Henry Castro had lithographed, at his expense, 
and circulated the same in various seaports of Europe, Maps of 
THE COAST OF Texas, made by one Capt. Simpson, then Pilot at 
Galveston; that after the immigants arrived on the coast, they 
had to be provided for until transportation could be furnished 
them to go into the interior. Sheds were constructed for them, 
and rations furnished. When transportation was had after the 
year 1844, it was procured at the enormous rate of three dollars 
and fifty cents per hundred pounds. When the immigrant ar- 
ived at the Colony he was generally destitute of means, so that at 
least meal, salt, bacon and coffee, had to be furnished to him and 
his family the first year, if the Empresario desired to retain him. 
And he had to ])e aided in the way of agricultural implements; 
seed and animals to work his land, being furnished to him. 

This, of course, involved the Empresario in great expend- 
itures, which resulted in a loss to him, but was of great benefit 
to the country and the people introduced among us. 

The contract of Henry Castro with the Republic of Texas, 
was complied with on his part, but not on the part of the Re- 
public, as will appear by what I shall proceed to state below : 

By virtue of the 8th Sec. of an Act passed the 14th of Jan., 
1841, entitled "An Act granting Lands to Immigrants," and the 
contracts made by virtue thereof, which each immigrant signed 
befoie his embarkation to this country, in Europe, the Empres- 
ario was entitled to retain one-half of the land assigned to each 
member of the Colon v ])v the Government of Texas. This was 



the only benefit, if any, that could be derived from the enter- 
prise. 

The Colonists' lands were surveyed as required by the con- 
tract, and drawings were made of the surveys by the Colonists 
publicly, this being the most equitable way of assigning the 
surveys then made to them. 

But, by the Act of 1850, entitled '^ An Act to perfect Land 
Titles in Castro's Colony," approved January 22d, 1860, the cer- 
tificates being issued directly to the Colonists, the Empresario 
was left in the cold, and Henry Castro, for his services to the 
Republic, and for colonizing the country west of 8an Antonio, 
received from the State of Texas, in all, 38,400 acres of land, 
and no other indemnity nor relief 

The State of Texas has gathered the fruits of Mr. Henry 
Castro's enterprise, by obtaining settlers and money at the time 
of need. Immigrants were introduced, according to incontesti- 
ble proof, which proof consists in reports or returns of the 
number of immigrants imported in each ship, the value of its 
cargo in goods, etc., made by said Castro to the Secretary of 
State, as above stated. It is immaterial where the immigrants 
brought to Texas by said Castro fixed their residence (many 
did in the Colony), but they all settled in the State. 

M^st of the Colonists brought to Texas by Castro came 
from the French Departments of High and Low Rhin, Meurthe, 
Moselle, Doubs and Jura, or from Alsace, Lorraine and Franche 
Comte— where the name of Henry Castro, in connection with 
the Colony, is favorably known. 

The land granted by the State to the" Colonists was of no 
value to them, nineteen-twentieths having sold their rights to 
the same to speculators for a mere trifle; but what was pf ma- 
terial use to them was the Town Lots given them by said Cas- 
tro with a twenty or forty-acre Farm Lot, which arrangement 
enabled them to settle together in towns or villages and have 
enough land to cultivate adjoining their homes. This was also 
indispensable, in order that the immigrants, settled as they were 
on the extreme frontier, should be able to protect themselves 
from the wild Indians. 

Out of about .550 certificates granted to Colonists, I am of 
opinion that not twenty are at this day owned by original gran- 



6 

tees or their heirs. Castro's Colony must have a population of 
near six thousand souls at this time. 

I have come to the conclusion from the experience I 
had with the Colony of my father, that — 

First : Unconditional grants of land by the State to Col- 
onists are of no use to them ; that the best way to give them land, 
if they want any, is to extend to them the pre-emption law; and 

Second : That the class of immigration I propose to 
bring to this State, having lost their all by the late war between 
France and Prussia, needs material assistance from the State to 
immigrate, iii the way of getting their passage paid from some 
European port to this country. 

I know well that this system does not meet with the appro- 
bation of many of our citizens, because they object that it is 
not only the cost of bringing the immigrant to this country that 
our State will have to pay, but that it will have to support 
a host of employees who would absorb all the appropriation 
made for that purpose. 

To this, I will answer that proper legislation can remedy that 
evil, and the State should make a trial of it — venturing at first 
a small appropriation. By thus assisting immigration from Al- 
sace and Lorraine, the State of Texas would not only benefit 
itself, but be the means oi" relieving thousands of people who 
are now in the most destitute condition. 

The Colony of Henry Castro, that I have spoken of, is com- 
posed of people mostly from Alsace. It may be said that nearly 
all the population of Castroville and Dhanis are from the De- 
partments of High and Low Rhin. Many had been employed, 
before coming to this country, in the textile manufactories of 
Mulhausen and other places, but have made good farmers in this 
country. In regard to their character, a reference to statistics 
of the State will show that not one of Castro's Colonists has 
ever been sentenced to the Penitentiary. When the war of the 
Rebellion broke out, they remained Union Men; and the returns 
of the late election show j)lainly where they stood in politics. I 
make this statement here from fear that some persons may not 
be in favor of this class of immigration, on they ground that 
they are Frenchmen ! 

The principal cities where Castro's Colonists emigrated from 



were Strasbourg, Mulhouse, Colmar, Soppelebas, Cernai, Wittes- 
heim, Bretten, Oberenzen, RoufFach, and many others, not 
necessary to mention here. 

The town of Castroville, the principal settlement of Castro's 
Colony, has several schools, and a Catholic college is soon to be 
erected, while the Catholic, German Lutheran, and Methodists, 
have Churches in the Colony. Too much praise cannot be 
bestowed upon the Catholic Church for the particular care they 
have taken in establishing schools for boys and girls, without 
any assistance from the State. I take the occasion to state that 
our population is much indebted to Bishops Odin and Dubuis, 
.and now to Rev. Father Richard, for their energy in promoting 
morality, charity, and education. 

I regret that I cannot express myself more at length on the 
above subject without extending this paper to too great length. 

I believe that it would be wise for the State to appoint one 
or two agents, with a moderate salary, to go to Alsace and Lor- 
raine. The papers of the country would be glad to publish any 
information that might be given them in regard to our State, and 
the inducements made to immigrants, free of charge; but what 
strikes me as indispensable is, that the State pay the passage of 
the immigrant, at least from some port in Europe to the port of 
Galveston. Experience proved that the port of Antwerp had 
many advantages over others at the time our Colonists were 
brought here; but the best point for embarkation of emigrants 
from that portion of Europe at present, must be determined by 
the agents in that country. 

I will conclude by saying that what little knowledge I have 
acquired in colonizing and bringing immigrants to this country, 
while acting as Secretary of my father, Henry Castro, I will 
be happy to place at the disposal of my State. 

LORENZO CASTRO. 
Castroville, 1871. 



NOTE. 



I recommend to all persons who take an interest in Texas, to read 
The Texas New Yorker, as that paper is devoted to making known ^ 
the latent wealth of Texas. It is ably conducted by Col. Geo. H. Sweet, 
who has resided many years in Texas, and is well acquainted with all its 
advantages. 

Good lands can be purchased in the Medina Valley from $2.50 to 
$7.00, with water, and timbered with pecan-trees. Lands on the Hondo, 
Quihi, and Verde Creek, are worth from $1.50 to $5.00 per acre. Lands 
on Parker's Creek and the Secco, about the town of Dhanis, from .$2.00 
to $4.00 per acre. Lands on the Atascoso, Chacon, Francisco, Perez 
Creek, and San Miguel, from $L25 to $2.50 per acre. 

The distance from Indianola to Castroville, by the road, is 163 miles, 
measured by the viameter. The following reliable persons will be glad 
to give information in regard to that portion of Texas : 

Chas. de Montel, Surveyor of the County; Dr. John Hofiman, M. D.; 
James Paul, Attorney at Law; Wm. Stuckler, Clerk of the Dist. Court; 
A. Carle, Merchant, etc., all residing in the town of Castroville, Medina 
Co., Texas. 



